The Darkest times
by NarutoXSakura233
Summary: Naruto has brought Sasuke back and the seat for the Next Hokage is up for grabs. Only one thing, Sasuke want's it. Get ready for a fic filled with lots of angst and sadness. Don't forget about the love. Pairing is NaruSaku, ShikaIno and SasuSaku in the beginning. Rated M for blood, gore and other things.


**Hey everyone, It's me! I'm back with a whole new story and refined writing skills. I hope you guys like this first chapter, I worked hard on it. By the way, I don't know if I'll continue my other fic, I feel like I fucked it up. So I wanna know what you guys think. If you want check out my other story and give me some feedback, I'd really appreciated it. **

**Now on to the story...**

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

He walked up the stairs that led up to the hokage's office, his hands in his pockets and an emotionless expression on his face. The man was about 19 years old. He had messy blonde spiky hair and oceanic blue eyes. He wore a black muscle shirt and a white and orange trench-coat. It was in fact, the same coat his father, the Yondaime Hokage. He was wearing a pair of jounin pants, and lastly a pair of sandals. He stood at a height of about 6 feet.

His kunai were stored in a special seal that was place on his arm, right below his wrist. At any point in time, he could summon the kunai with ease, and they would always appear in his hand. He had about 6 of the special kunai that enabled him to use his family jutsu. He was slowly owning up to the name, "Yellow Flash", which his father held before him. His use of the technique was at times sloppy, but he trained every single day, whenever he could to improve his skills.

Naruto was proud to be the son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. The story his mother told him a few years ago revealed so much about his family and the fateful day that stole his parents from him, and imprisoned the Kyuubi inside of him. He lived his life alone, with no one to be there for him when he was a child. The only too ever show him any kindness was Sarutobi. He had given Naruto his own apartment for a cheap price. Though Naruto didn't exactly like his home, it was better than nothing. That didn't mean that it gave him protection, the villagers would still invade his home and attack him.

It was only after the incident with Mizuki and Iruka that Naruto could begin to make his dream a reality. He was given his regulation headband, and was put onto team 7. This is when it all started, team 7 and Sasuke. He best friend had left the village due to revenge. Naruto had tried to stop his raven haired teammate, but couldn't bring him back. He went after him at the request of his pink-haired teammate. Sakura had always been the weakest in the team, but she was an important member none of the less. She was a medic ninja, and a smart one at that. You could say she was the smartest of the entire rookie nine besides Shikamaru.

Naruto always loved Sakura, ever since he was at least 12 years old. Back then it could've been just a little crush, but now that he was older and more mature his feelings for the pink-haired kunoichi were stronger than ever before. But Sakura never had the same feeling for the blonde. She would sometimes glance at him with a warm, genuine smile. She had only hugged him once, and that was only when he saved everyone from pain. (He didn't count the time she hugged him at the kage summit.)

They seemed to become too distant after Naruto had brought Sasuke back. It wasn't that they weren't friends anymore, it was just that they didn't seem to talk to each other like they use too. Sakura hung out with Sasuke almost all of the time, and Naruto trained none stop to get his mind off of Sakura. Sometimes Naruto would have a conversation with Kyuubi about training methods and what not. Naruto had been working on his chakra control when he found out.

Naruto was at training ground 10 when a puff of smoke appeared and a man was standing in front of Naruto. The man had silver hair and a mask that hid most of his face. He waved to Naruto.

"Yo." Greeted Kakashi, smiling. Naruto greeted his sensei the same way, and then continued his training. Kakashi walked over to his student and watched him train. _He's grown up so much. I still remember when he was the loud, annoying and hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja when he was younger. _When Kakashi looked at Naruto now, it was like he was looking at a completely different person. Now that he thought about it, Naruto looked a lot like his father.

After about ten minutes of watching Naruto train, Kakashi walked over to the blonde and put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked up at him with a questionable look on his face.

"The hokage wants you in her office, now." Kakashi said calmly. Naruto nodded softly and started to walk to the hokage's office. Kakashi stopped him before he got too far. "Naruto… It's about who will be the next hokage. The two candidates are you and _him_." Naruto just stood there for a few moments before nodding and then walk on ahead. Kakashi sighed and looked up into the sky.

Naruto was now standing right outside the door of the hokage's office and knocked softly. There was a stern voice from behind that said for him to enter. Naruto slowly opened the door and walked in. He saw Sasuke standing in front of Tsunade with Sakura next to him. Naruto looked at the hokage and saw a small smile on her face. That made him feel a little better, but didn't do much in healing his heart in what was about to happen.

Naruto knew all about what the elections and how they ran. To make it interesting this time, instead of Tsunade electing the next hokage, the damn council had made the decision on making it a team duel to decide a hokage. It wasn't the only thing that was required to happen, but the other challenges had been completed. Each candidate needed a partner and Sakura was Sasuke's. Naruto's partner had yet to show up yet. Sasuke smirked at Naruto.

"You're late dobe." Laughed the Uchiha, and then turned to the hokage. Sakura glanced over at Naruto slightly and giggled. Naruto clenched his fists together, and kept staring at the floor. He hated how she saw him now, and how she treated him. Tsunade scowled at all three of them, and then took out some paperwork.

Tsunade began to speak. "Now, the three of you know how the final test will go down I assume?" All three nodded and she gave each a document. "All you need to do is have your partner sign this document so that he or she can participate in the final test." Sasuke nodded and again smirked at Naruto, and then gave Sakura the document. She signed it quickly and then gave it back to Tsunade. She then kissed the Uchiha on the cheek.

Naruto forced himself to look at the floor again, not wanting to look at his teammate. Tsunade rubbed her temples and glanced at Naruto.

"Where's your partner, Naruto?" She asked, still keeping an eye on Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto shrugged in response, obviously embarrassed that his partner isn't there yet. Sasuke chuckled at Naruto while Sakura kept staring at "Her Uchiha". Tsunade almost lost it there; how the fuck could Sakura do this to Naruto? It pissed her off even thinking about it. Tsunade then began to remember what happened that fateful day.

**(Flashback)**

It was a sunny afternoon in the hidden leaf village; the entire village was getting ready for a festival in the remembrance of the fourth hokage who saved the village. Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were in a deep conversation about what to do for Naruto's birthday. It was the day Naruto hated the most, mostly because of the awful things that happened to him on his birthday. Ino felt bad for the blonde, and so did the rest of her team. They were talking about where they would meet up and at what time.

Ino clapped her hands together, "So, we'll meet there tonight at around 8:00. Sound good?" Shikamaru and Choji nodded in agreement, and then looked at each other. They were wondering how this party would go, if Naruto returned with Sasuke in time. Ino playfully jabbed Shikamaru on the arm, and winked grabbing his hand. "Come on! Let's go get the place ready!" And with that the trio ran off towards the house that they would hold Naruto's 18'Th birthday party.

On their way there, Ino decided to stop at Naruto's apartment to clean it up. She thought it would be a nice gesture towards him for always being there for the village and her. She then remembered, she had no idea where his apartment was. She had completely forgotten the fact that she had never been to his apartment. She then ran over to the hokage's tower to get help.

It took them about ten minutes to get the hokage tower. When they arrived, Ino knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for an answer. Tsunade was in her chair looking out her window when Ino entered the room. She turned slightly and looked at the blonde and her teammates.

"Now, what could be so important that you would have to just barge into my office on a holiday without me calling you here?" She demanded softly, raising an eyebrow. Ino pointed out the window towards the city of Kohona.

She laughed a bit, "Hokage-sama… It's Naruto's birthday and we want to do some nice things for him and the first thing is clean his house…" She trailed off blushing. Tsunade looked at Ino confused for a second. Then Shikamaru spoke.

"She has no idea where the man's house is…" He said, shrugging. Ino glared at her teammate for a second before smirking at him. She slowly walked toward him and poked him in the stomach. Just because he was the smartest shinobi of the rookie nine didn't mean he didn't have a weakness.

"Oh, Shika…" She whispered in his ear, "And do you know where Naruto lives by any chance?" She giggled slightly and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before retreating back toward the window. For once, Shikamaru was at a loss for words. What was that all about?

"Women…" He murmured blushing slightly. He, for some reason, couldn't keep his eyes off of his blonde teammate. The way she moved, looked just made his cool, lazy attitude seem to leave him. He felt something for Ino, but he didn't what it was yet. But like the genius that he was, he could defiantly tell how Ino felt about him. He was slowly growing to like the girl more and more every day. Then Tsunade spoke.

"So all you need is directions to his apartment, correct?" They all nodded. Tsunade stood up from her chair and walked over to the window. She pointed to a giant yellow apartment building maybe fifteen minutes from the tower. "There." She then sat back down on her chair and seemed to grab something from under her desk. It was a bottle.

Ino seemed extremely interested and eyed the bottle. She turned to Tsunade, "Is that sake?" Tsunade nodded and opened her bottle. Within thirty seconds, she finished the entire bottle. She then turned to Ino and glared at her.

"That's my tenth one, Ino…" She mumbled, "You're not even twenty-one yet. So you can't have any." She laid her head on her desk and seemed to almost pass out right then and there. "Well, what are you waiting for? I told you were his house is. Now GO!" All at once, the jounin ran out of the room as fast as they could. Tsunade chuckled a little and thought about a close friend of hers, _you perverted idiot, I wish you were here… _before passing out.

Ino, Choji and Shikamaru walked to the yellow apartment building and entered through the front doors. They looked for the person who should be the land lord. They finally saw someone and Ino ran over to him.

"Hey, could you tell me which room Naruto Uzumaki lives in please?" The man just looked at her and scowled. He still didn't the kid. He pointed at the stairs and started walking away.

"Top floor, room 7," he spat before leaving the room. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji all glared at the old man for a bit before they decided to leave him be. Ino then scurried up the stairs all the way to the top floor, with her other two teammates follower her lazily. Once they reached the top floor, Ino looked for room 7. She was guessing he chose it because it was his team number. She tried the door and it was unlocked. She was at first surprised, and then she scowled. Why the hell didn't he lock his door when he left?

Shikamaru shrugged and followed Ino into the room. Choji followed behind them slowly. Ino walked around the room in disgust, seeing the mess that was still present. There were clothes all over the floor, dirty dishes in the sink and unclean surfaces. His bed was messy and the food he had in the fridge was way after the expiration date. Shikamaru was walking around when he saw a closet in Naruto's bedroom. He opened it, thinking he would see a bunch of clothes and shoes. What he saw was an empty closet, with cobwebs all over it.

"Doesn't he use this, what's the point in having a closet if you don't use it?" wondered the Nara as he closed the closet and walked into the kitchen. Ino was already cleaning up, ordering Choji to do a bunch of different things at once. Choji was running around, throwing clothes in a dirt hamper and cleaning the table and counter tops. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck, sighing at the work they're doing. Ino glared at Shikamaru, pointing at the bathroom.

"You," She began, "can start by cleaning the disgusting bathroom," Shikamaru shrugged and walking into the bathroom. A few seconds later, he immediately regretted his decision. Do this is the price he had to pay, for just being himself, wonderful.

* * *

Kakashi was walking the streets with his pink-haired student. He could see that she was really worried about Naruto and Sasuke. She was completely restless and wouldn't sit still until they returned. She doesn't know what she would do if they both didn't return. Worse if no one returned. Safe to say, Kakashi was very worried about her.

He began, "Sakura, he will return with Sasuke." Kakashi waited for a response, but he only received a small nod. Kakashi sweat dropped. She certainly isn't that talkative today. "Naruto will bring Sasuke back. I have no doubt in my mind about that. But I'm not concerned about that as much as what will happen to the two of you if he doesn't return with Sasuke. So that's why I'm going to ask this. What will happen to you and Naruto if he returns without Sasuke?"

Sakura looked down at the ground while walking beside her sensei, thinking about how to answer his question. Was she going to be angry at Naruto? Will she be worried? What if he didn't return this time? If he died, she would never forgive herself for not going with him. So in response, Sakura just shrugged.

"I don't know what I'll do Kaka-sensei." She finally said. Kakashi wasn't satisfied with her answer, he knew she was unsure of her feelings about Naruto and Sasuke. He was really nervous about what would happen if the two never returned again. She would most likely lock herself in her room and never leave it again.

"No." He said sternly.

"What?"

"That's not good enough Sakura."

"I'm sorry I can't decide what I'll do if the worst happens!" She retorted. She began to get angry with her sensei.

"That's bullshit Sakura; you're not a child anymore. You need to realize your true feelings!"

"I can't they're both so dear to me! I love Sasuke-kun and Naruto…" She was cut off.

"All it ever is about is Sasuke! What about Naruto? All you talk about is saving Sasuke-_kun_!" He yelled angrily. At that he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Sakura alone to think about what he had said.

* * *

Back with Ino, Shikamaru and Choji finished cleaning Naruto's Apartment. Shikamaru almost died cleaning the bathroom, Choji ate some of Naruto's bad food and Ino finished cleaning the bedroom, living room and kitchen. The entire place was cleaner than it ever has been. The place looked and smelled brand new. Ino was proud of the work she had done.

Shikamaru was currently sitting on the couch remembering his old sensei Asuma. It had been about 3 years since he had died, and he still missed him as much as he did the same day he had died. Choji was next to his teammate thinking about barbeque, his mouth watering at the shear thought of food. The food at Naruto's was really bad. Ino walked over to them and patted Shikamaru on the shoulder.

"Let's go find Sakura and have her meet us at the house for Naruto's birthday party." declared Ino as she began to leave the house. Shikamaru and Choji followed closely behind her. They walked down the stairs and exited the building. When they stepped outside, they realized it was raining. There was lightning al around the village and two certain chakra signatures were being sensed by most shinobi in the village.

Everyone thought the same thing at once, Naruto and Sasuke.

"Teme," Yelled Naruto as he dodged another fireball attack. Naruto couldn't believe how Sasuke could be move at such speeds and attacking him at the same time. He knew that there was lighting around the area, so that meant that he was using his jutsu to increase his speed. "Stop playing around **Sasuke!" **He growled in Kyuubi's voice. Sasuke smirked and laughed.

"Dobe, you don't scare me at all!" Sasuke ran across a river, sending a bolt of lightning into the lake. Now that Naruto was in his nine tails mode, he could run right through the lightning without feeling a thing. He then stopped using Kyuubi's chakra and switched to his sage mode. Sasuke had his Sharigan activated and they were studying every move that Naruto made.

"Fūton: Rasenshuriken," yelled Naruto. He threw the spiraling ball of wind and chakra at Sasuke. In a split second decision, Sasuke moved out of the way of the deadly attack. Sasuke continued towards the leaf village.

Sasuke bellowed, "I'll have us fight all out in your village, dobe!" Naruto scowled and increased his speed by 3. Sasuke was surprised by the sudden increase of speed and couldn't dodge the fist that connected with his gut. Naruto then followed up with a kick to the face. With Sasuke temporarily stopped, Naruto took his chance.

"Rasengan," He yelled, slamming the ball of chakra into his former teammate. The force of the attack sent Sasuke flying right through the gates of the leaf village and into the ground behind them. A villager yelped in surprise and ran off, only before dropping dead. Sasuke rose from the ground, katana in hand with lightning surrounding it.

"Filth," He muttered, spitting blood onto the ground. Kakashi, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji arrived to see the Uchiha standing there. He glanced over and smirked. Just then, Naruto appeared and threw kunai at the Uchiha, who dodged them with no effort.

"Sasuke…" All of them said in union. Sakura's heart was beating incredibly fast, she almost couldn't breathe. The man that she wanted to return for so long had finally come back. She didn't seem to register that he was still the enemy. Sasuke turned to face Naruto kneeling next to Kakashi and laughed slightly.

"Dead last, dobe, failure," Bellowed the Sharigan user. He laughed evilly before lunging at Naruto. Kakashi moved in front of his student to shield him, but was pushed out of the way by a clone. Naruto charged at the Uchiha, kunai in hand. Shikamaru grabbed Ino and jumped back, so did everyone else.

"I'll take care of this," He stated, "Don't **fucking intervene**." He said in Kyuubi's voice. Everyone sweat dropped, not liking the tone of voice their teammate had. They took a good look at him and saw that he was wearing his father's trench-coat. Kakashi had a sudden feel of nostalgia. Then the ground seemed to shake.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged blows with kunai, their attacks blowing away and flying into the surrounding buildings. One villager was stabbed in the foot and another was killed instantly, a kunai to the throat. Blood gushed out and splashed onto the ground as he fell over and laid still. Naruto felt slightly bad for the villagers that were being killed due to his battle. He had to focus on the man in front of him.

Sakura launched himself onto a building, used his momentum to jump off the wall and lunged at Naruto. He had his chidori charged with Sharigan activated; this meant that Sasuke was serious now. Naruto, instead of jumping out of the way, rushed right at Sasuke. Right before Sasuke's attack could connect with its target, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and redirected it so it shot out towards the sky. A second later Sasuke was kneed in the stomach. He coughed up blood onto Naruto's face, and held his gut.

"Dobe…" He mumbled in pain, glaring at the blonde. Naruto didn't stop there; he then continued to punch the crap out of Sasuke in multiple places. His face and gut were the most damaged at the end of the assault. Naruto grabbed Sasuke by his shirt and tossed him into the air. Sasuke screamed in pain as a kunai was imbedded into his leg. Naruto jumped into the air, prepared to finish this.

"**Let's finish this kid!" **announced the voice of Kyuubi. Without saying a word, Naruto charged a Rasengan and aimed for Sasuke's chest. This attack would finally finish everything. Suddenly, Naruto felt a numbing sensation in his chest. He then felt his body start to disobey him and he fell to the floor. His ears were ringing and he couldn't breathe. He could just barely hear the screams of the others behind him. Then it hit him, Sasuke had just hit him with Chidori.

Then the Uchiha laughed, "Hopeless!" Sasuke landed on top of Naruto, crushing the blonde's ribs on impact. Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the neck and punch him until you could say Naruto was dead. Sasuke then held Naruto by the shirt caller and looked over at the group of shinobi looking at them. Sakura was in tears, so was Ino and Kakashi. "Is anyone going to help the dobe?" He asked.

Sakura took a step forward, then another and another. She then sped up to a walking pace and stopped right in front of Sasuke. Sasuke smirked at her and held a kunai to Naruto's throat. He laughed insanely for a few seconds before become completely serious.

"Who's it going to be Sakura? Me or the dobe?" asked the Uchiha. Sakura already knew her answer. She thought it would be the only way to save Naruto, and be with the Uchiha. Sakura stood next to the Uchiha.

"I choose Sasuke!" she declared. Sasuke smiled and threw Naruto onto the floor. He then gave Sakura a kunai. She already had a bad feeling about what the Uchiha would say to her.

"Sakura, prove that you love me by killing my enemy. Kill Naruto." He said softly. Sakura had the kunai in her hand and she was already shaking. _Kill Naruto? _She thought. That is what she had to do for him to realize that she loved him? Kill her teammate and friend? It was so fucked up. She started to walk toward Naruto and knelt beside him. She felt his pulse and he was alive.

"S-Sakura-chan…" He whispered, trying to breathe. Sakura was crying, hearing his voice and knowing what she was about to do. Naruto looked up at her hand and saw the kunai. "Just do it." He declared, closing his eyes. Sakura almost dropped the kunai and balled her eyes out. He knew that she loved Sasuke and he had heard what he had asked her to do.

It was to save the village; it was to keep Sasuke from leaving. She didn't want to do it, but if she didn't everyone would die, including Naruto and herself. She was just about to kill him when she saw his expression. He was, smiling. She couldn't take it anymore; she dropped the kunai and hugged Naruto. She cried her eyes out, crying that she just couldn't do it. This is what made Naruto snap. Suddenly, he stood up. His eyes were red and his pupils were now slit. He had red, demonic chakra surrounding him.

Naruto jumped at Sasuke with blinding speed, catching the Uchiha off guard. Within one second, Naruto had grabbed the Uchiha and slammed him into the ground. What he did was so unexpected. He slapped Sasuke as hard as he could.

"**Bastard!" **he began,** "She was going to kill me for you! She was willing to do anything for you and you have the balls to cause her pain? FUCK YOU SASUKE! I saw you holding your katana walking toward her! If you don't listen to me here, I'll beat the fucking shit out of you! Stop living in the world of revenge! I know that your brother killed your clan, but you learned the truth right? The council forced him to do it! We've all lost someone dear to us in this fucked up world! At least you had parents to lose. Mine were murdered before I could even know their names! When I found out that it was Madara Uchiha had killed my parents, I should've gone on a rampage! But I didn't go insane and held in my emotions for the sake of everyone around me! Turn back to the good man I used to know and we'll take care of the assholes in the council, it's a promise! DON'T CAUSE US ANY MORE PAIN, DAMNIT!" **He screamed with Kyuubi's voice. He punched the ground right next to Sasuke's head.

The Kyuubi's chakra had disappeared and left Naruto looking at his teammate in the eyes. Sasuke saw Naruto in tears and for once, the Uchiha didn't have a comeback or remark to that. He thought about what he had done throughout his life and closed his eyes. He fucked up, big time. Sasuke slowly got up with Naruto and supported him. Sasuke couldn't look at Naruto in the face, but he whispered the words, "I'm so fucking sorry." Naruto had heard the words and patted his teammate on the back.

Sasuke walked over to Sakura and the first thing he did was hug her. Naruto noticed, but shrugged it off. He was back and that's all that mattered. Then something that he didn't expect happened. Ino ran up to him and threw her arms around him. She was tearing up, holding back her sobs.

"Thank you, Naruto…" She trailed off as she began to cry. They stayed like that for a bit before she let go. Naruto looked her in the eye, and then pointed at Shikamaru. She got what he was pointing at and ran over to him and hugged him.

Kakashi walked up to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder. He had a smile showing, and he laughed a bit.

"Good job, Naruto." He said, getting up and walking over to Choji who still couldn't believe what he just saw. Naruto waved to him and laughed a bit, and Choji laughed back.

Lastly it was Sakura who walked up to Naruto. She threw her arms around and hugged him. She began to cry and started to shake. Naruto held the girl he loved in his arms for the first time since the time he saved them from pain. She looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers. She didn't know what she was doing, but she was so scared that she just did it. Her lips connected with his, and she started to kiss him His eyes were wide open and he backed up slightly. She held him close to her body, not letting him go.

He kissed her back, closing his eyes and only thinking of her. She smelled like cherries, and he couldn't get enough of that smell. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and explored it. They then began to battle for control. They kissed for a minute or two before they stopped for air. Sakura was blushing up a storm and jumped back, realizing what she just did. Naruto knew that look all too well.

"I'm… I'm sorry." She said, obviously embarrassed. She ran over to Sasuke and stood next to him. Sasuke hadn't seen what she had just done, and she was glad for that. The only one who seemed to notice was Kakashi. He slowly walked over to his student and put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto looked up at his sensei and smiled. Kakashi knew it was a fake smile.

"It's alright Kaka-sensei." Naruto muttered, holding back tears. He knew she loved Sasuke, and he knew that the kiss she just gave him didn't mean anything. She just did it because he almost died. So he just used his mask and acted like he didn't care. Kakashi saw right through him.

"Let's go Naruto; I'm taking you for some Ramen." And with that, the two walked off, towards Naruto's favorite Ramen stand. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji hurried after them. They still hadn't told Naruto about his party yet. Once they were almost out of sight, Sakura finally looked away. She was with the love of her life now, all thanks to Naruto.

Once they ordered their food, they all ate in silence for the most part. The only conversation was with Ayame, the ramen stand managers beautiful daughter. Naruto, for some odd reason, ate his ramen slowly. He actually wanted to taste the noodles instead of eating the delicacy like a pig. He was the last to finish his food. Kakashi paid for the meal and they bid farewell to Ayame. They then began to walk to Naruto's apartment.

"Why are you following me? My place is disgusting; I don't want you to see it like it is." He said, rubbing the back of his head trying to cheer himself up. Ino giggled a bit and the others just looked away, and said nothing. Naruto got to his house and was about to open the door when Choji grabbed Naruto and pulled him back. He was surprised at first and looked at his comrade with a confused expression.

"Just watch!" She squealed, opening the door. The first thing that hit Naruto was the pleasant smell, next was the view of the clean living room. Wait, clean? When the hell did that happen? Naruto walked into his house and saw that it was cleaned and looked brand new. Ino opened his fridge and showed him the new food. He smiled genuinely, happy that his friends did this for him. While Ino showed Naruto around his home, Shikamaru and Kakashi were in a deep conversation about what they could do about Sasuke.

"I don't think Tsunade will let him back in village," stated the Nara, scratching the back of his head. Kakashi nodded slightly, looking out Naruto's window. Kakashi knew all too well that there was a loophole in getting Sasuke back into the village.

"The council will want the Uchiha back in the village, so they will have the Sharigan," Kakashi said. He sighed and looked over at Naruto. He was smiling, but he could tell it was a fake smile. He's seen it so many times before, and it hurt him each time he saw it. He had seen the moment Naruto and Sakura had, and what she had said after words. Kakashi felt bad for him.

"What's wrong Kakashi-sensei?" Shikamaru muttered, looking at the fellow jounin. Kakashi glanced toward the Nara and shook his head. Shikamaru just shrugged and looked the other way. Kakashi left the Nara and walked over to Naruto. He took something out of his pocket; it was wrapped in a blue and silver wrapping paper. He tapped Naruto on the shoulder, and gave him the object. Naruto had a puzzled look on his face.

Naruto unwrapped the present and what it was, was a photograph. It was of a blonde haired man standing next to a red haired woman. Naruto recognized the two as his mom and dad. He studied the photo closely, remembering their faces.

Naruto looked up at Kakashi, "Thanks Kaka-sensei." His sensei smiled and walked away from his student. Naruto walked into his room and put the photo next to his photo of team 7. He smiled at the old photo, remembering how easy life was back then. He then heard Ino call his name from the other room. He hurried out of his room and entered the living room.

All four people cheered, "Happy birthday, Naruto!" Naruto was almost in tears when he saw, the cake on the table with the few people around it. This was the first time anyone had ever done this for him. He usually spent his birthdays alone. He walked over to the others and they watched Naruto blow out the candles. He was officially 18 now.

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke were walking to the hokage's tower to beg Tsunade to let Sasuke back into the Leaf Village. The walk was quiet as the two walked, but they glanced at each other slightly from time to time. Once they arrived, it was Sasuke who knocked softly on the door. Tsunade already knew who it was and she didn't need to tell Sasuke that. He and Sakura walked into the room.

"Sasuke…" She said sternly. He only nodded and sat down in front of her. Sasuke just looked at her desk, avoiding her cold hard gaze. He realized that she had stood up from her desk and walked over to his side. He felt a rise in chakra before getting an extremely painful punch to the face. He was sent flying into the wall only a couple feet away. Sakura yelped and ran over to him. Before she could heal him, Sasuke grabbed her arm.

"Don't" He said, softly, "I deserve this…" Sakura nodded and moved away from the Uchiha. Tsunade walked over to the rouge ninja. She grabbed him by the shirt collar and lifted him up into the air.

(**Dark scene)**

The first thing that she did was punch him in the gut.

"Bastard…"

Next, she kicked him in the balls, causing the Uchiha to grunt in pain.

"Dick…"

She didn't stop there; she then grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall.

"Asshole…"

She dug her nails into his right arm and ripped some skin off of his arm.

"Unforgivable, PEACE OF SHIT!" she yelled in rage. She finally grabbed his neck and almost snapped it. The thing that stopped her was Tsunade's old student jumping into the fight and pulled Tsunade off of the Uchiha.

"Stop it! Don't hurt Sasuke-kun anymore!" she pleaded, holding the Uchiha. Tsunade's eyes widened at Sakura's statement. She still fucking loves him? Tsunade pinched her nose and sat down again.

"Sasuke, you have no idea how incredibly pissed off I am at you. But the council will never stay quiet if you don't come back. So, I'll let you back into the village. You'll start as a genin again." She finished. Sasuke nodded and Sakura hugged the Uchiha as tightly as she could.

"We can be team 7 again!" she cheered. She had seemed to had forgotten that he was the one that had caused her so much trouble. She suddenly developed her childhood crush again, and called it "love."

Tsunade almost had the urge to start beating the fuck out of the two for being such douchebags to Naruto. She almost forgot that it was his birthday and that they had planned a party for him at his new house. She got up from her chair and walked towards the door.

"I'll talk to the council, now get out of here." She ordered. The two left the room without saying another word. Tsunade slowly closed her door and walked down the stairs. This was going to end very badly…

**(End of Flashback)**

Tsunade looked at Naruto with sympathy, knowing just how much he was hurting inside. She then turned to the Uchiha and Sakura and saw them acting all romantic and what not. She coughed rather loudly to stop them from their moment.

"Naruto," Tsunade began, "If your partner doesn't show up, I'll have no choice but to disqualify you from the test." Naruto nodded slightly, but never looked up. He began to sulk a little. His dream of becoming the Hokage was right in front of him, and his partner wasn't here yet.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Everyone gazed over to it.

"Enter."

The door slowly opened and who entered the room was the last person Sasuke and Sakura had expected.

"Naruto, I'm so sorry I'm late," said Ino Yamanaka and she closed the door. Sakura glared at Ino and Sasuke was dumbfounded. Why the fuck would Ino help the Dobe?

"Thank god! Ino I almost cried!" Naruto stuttered, giving her a hug. She blushed slightly, and then hugged him back.

"I know how much you've worked for this and since Shika-kun couldn't show up, I ran here as fast as I could." She whispered. Not wanting Sakura to know who Naruto's original partner was supposed to be. The two laughed and turned to face the hokage. Ino walked up to the desk, picked up the form and signed it. Tsunade smiled at the kunoichi.

"Now that everyone is here, I'll explain how the final test will go down," Tsunade stated, "tomorrow, all four of you will meet at the forest of death. Each of you will enter the forest with the intent on killing your rival." This caused their eyes to widen. "Now, you will have to just incapacitate your enemy, no killing. A hokage must know when to use their power and when to restrain from using too much. The first team to incapacitate the other team wins."

Naruto clenched his fist tightly. He was finally going to be able to become hokage! His dream was right in front of him. All that stood in his way was Sasuke. He just had to beat the Uchiha and the dream would become a reality.

"Meet at the forest of death at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. That is all, dismissed." At the words, all four bowed to their hokage and exited the room. Once they were gone, Tsunade looked inside her desk and grabbed a paper. It said:

**Sasuke Uchiha must have a chance to become the 6****th**** hokage. He is the last remaining member of the Uchiha clan and word of him being the next hokage would scare all other nations. There would be no more wars. It would lead to peace. You **_**will **_**let the Uchiha participate in the test to become the hokage.**

**Your friendly neighborhood Council **

Tsunade ripped the piece of shit with all her strength. The scraps fell to the floor. She groaned rose from her seat. She absolutely hated the council; they're always getting in the way of Naruto. She kind of wished that Sasuke would just kill the village elders. Wait. What the hell did she just say? Tsunade grabbed her head and closed her eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with me?"

Ino and Naruto walked through the village, towards Naruto's house. They were talking about the test in the beginning, and then they changed their conversation into talking about Shikamaru and Choji. They had left for a mission last night and Shikamaru had informed her that she had to take his place. She told Naruto how he had left a letter at her doorstep at 1'oclock in the morning. Their mission was in the land of iron.

Naruto had raised an eyebrow at the name of the nation they were in. But he had shrugged it off, deeming it not important at the moment. Ino then went into talking about girly stuff, makeup, clothes and worst of all, boys. Naruto had calmly just nodded his head so that she would know he was paying attention. After she had finished talking, they had arrived at Naruto's house. It wasn't the old apartment that he had before; it was his father's home, the Namikaze estate.

Sasuke and Sakura were walking to the Uchiha residence. They were relativity quiet the entire walk, not even looking at each other. Once they arrived at Sasuke's house, they went inside. Sakura was the first to speak.

"We're going to have to hurt them, aren't we?" Sasuke looked at her and pinched his nose.

"No fucking duh." He retorted. Sakura winced at his harshness and he saw that. "Wait, I'm sorry I didn't mean that." He walked over and hugged her tightly. She was about to protest when he kissed her. She was shocked for a second, and then kissed him back. Their tongues explored each other's mouths, getting used to the new taste it acquired. They stopped after a few minutes to catch their breath. Sasuke grabbed her arm and started to pull her towards the bedroom.

"I'll show you my good side." He said, as they entered his room, the door closing behind them both.

* * *

**Finished!**

**I'm glad that's over... Took me over 5 days to write. I would like some feedback on this story so I know if you guys want more of this. I have midterms coming up so updates might be a little slow, but not at 5 month intervals.**

**R&R**

**NaruSaku233**


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